»Die Zauberflöte« is by far the most famous of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s operas. It is also the most enigmatic. At the start of the opera, Prince Tamino is saved at the last moment from a giant serpent by three women.
Image gallery
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
They show him a picture of Pamina, who he instantly falls in love with. Together with the happy-go-lucky bird-catcher Papageno, he sets off on a journey to find his love, who (as he discovers) is in the clutches of the sun priest Sarastro. Tamino and Papageno have to pass various trials in order to prove themselves worthy of the women that they love. Eventually, Tamino and Pamina are accepted into the circle of initiates, the Queen of the Night is defeated and Papageno too finds his great love, Papagena.
August Everding’s 1994 production is one of the all-time classics in the Staatsoper repertoire, featuring reconstructions of decorations designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1816 for the Berlin Court Opera on Unter den Linden – including the legendary »starry sky«.
2:55 h | including 1 interval
(Program in German)
Additional information
BACKGROUND
In a mythical past, a king and queen ruled together over a kingdom of day and night. Their daughter was called Pamina. When the king died, he gave his power – symbolized by the mighty circle of the sun – not to the queen, but to the Brotherhood headed by Sarastro, thereby dividing the realm of light and shadow in two. After the king’s death, however, his wife attempted to win back the power she had lost as the Queen of the Night. In order to remove Pamina from her mother’s negative influence, Sarastro has had her kidnapped.
(Program in German)
